Famous Christians of the early church

The Gospels and Acts in the New Testament describe some of the most significant early Christians. Of particular importance were the women and disciples who met Jesus after he had risen from the dead and so passed the gospel onto the world. The events of Acts 2 describe how the Apostle Peter gave an instrumental speech in the formation of the early church. A few years later, the Apostle Paul was instrumental in taking the gospel to Gentiles (non-Jews) who were pagans.

In the following generations great persecution occurred against Christians throughout many parts of the Roman Empire and a number of Christians such as Polycarp stood firm in their faith acting as strong witnesses for Christ. It has been said that their blood was the seed of the church.

As Christianity became more widespread and disputes over its doctrine and teaching arose, a number of scholarly Christians wrote great works of defense for Christianity. These men who were known as apologists helped to clarify and define some of the important points of Christian faith. Irenaeus, for example, argued against Gnosticism, an exclusive knowledge-based religious movement.

Christianity became accepted by the ruling classes especially in the 4th century AD, when the Roman Emperor Constantine I converted to Christianity.

Famous Christians of the Middle Ages

During the middle-ages, a number of Christians played significant roles in developing Christian thoughts and ideas such as Thomas Aquinas. Other Christians played enormous roles in the politics of the time such as Pope Leo III who brought unprecedented political power to the papacy.